Faded
by LetTheWookieWin
Summary: 10 years after the Hero of Ferelden sacrificed herself to save Thedas from the Blight, Evelyn Trevelyan finds herself attempting to save the world, despite quite possibly being the least competent person available. To make matters worse, she brought back a souvenir from the Fade. A rather irritating spirit who has decided to haunt the young noble for 'research purposes.'
1. The Beginning

Evelyn Trevelyan was not impressed with the sudden developments in her life. One minute she had been on the fast track to a successful and lucrative career in the Chantry, complete with cushy living quarters and smexy Templars, and the next she was being spat out of a giant glowing other-worldly portal after apparently blowing up a super important meeting only to be hauled off an interrogated by Thedas's angriest Andrastrian and her even scarier hooded partner.

'You killed Her Holiness!' snarled the angry one, her short dark hair standing on end like some sort of fuming cat creature.

'I bloody well did not!' responded Evelyn indignantly, 'it's considered rude to murder people in Ostwick. Especially old people, they can't fight back. It's just not cricket, is it?'

'You lie!' hissed the angry one, furthering Evelyn's belief that she was in fact part feline.

The third occupant of the dank cell circled the chained noble, rolled her eyes at the angry one's outburst but did not contribute to the conversation.

'Leliana, do you have anything to add?'

'Non,' responded the other woman, 'your line of questioning is clearly yielding results, Cassandra. Carry on.'

The angry one, Cassandra, nodded smugly before turning her blistering glare back to Evelyn, who was seriously wondering how her interrogator had not picked up on the sarcasm that had practically oozed from her companion's words.

'You fell out of a blasted Fade portal and you expect us to believe you had nothing to do with Divine Justinia's death?!'

'Was I in the Fade?' asked Evelyn eyeing Cassandra with false suspicion, hoping to throw her captor.

The young Trevelyan was well aware she had spent some time in the world between worlds and there were two main reasons she was fairly confident in this knowledge. One reason was the ugly green glow etched under the skin of her left hand that sent shooting pains up her arm every time she flexed. The second reason was the presence of the fourth and final occupant of the room.

A young woman, no more than twenty summers, with blue eyes, tousled shoulder length auburn curls and an easy smile. She would have attracted all sorts of gentleman -or gentlewomen, this wasn't Tevinter for Andraste's sake - had it not been for the fact she was actually an irritating spirit who had followed Evelyn out of the portal like a lost mabari pup and, upon discovering that no-one else could see her, had deigned it necessary to haunt the young noble for 'research purposes.'

'She seems pretty irked.' mused the spirit, eyeing the maroon hue that adorned Cassandra's face with fascination, 'I didn't know people could turn that colour. Is that a Nevarran thing?'

Evelyn ignored her.

'I will ask you once more!' snarled the aforementioned Nevarran, 'what is your role in this nefarious plot?!'

'Andraste's arse,' sighed the spirit happily, 'she certainly is dedicated.'

Evelyn glared at the spirit, which in hindsight was not the brightest of plans because then it just looked like she was glaring at thin air like some sort of crazy person. She caught herself quickly but Leliana was already eyeing her oddly. Cassandra was too absorbed in her ranting to notice.

'Look,' tried the noble, 'I understand that you're all rather upset that her Most Holiness of Perfection was blown up but taking it out on me seems rather unfair. Maker's breath, I can barely swing a stick without poking myself in the eye, never mind overcome hoards of Templars and Chantry stooges to murder the Divine.'

'That's a very good point,' the spirit chimed in, rather pointlessly as no-one could hear her.

'She does seem spectacularly incompetent,' mused Leliana.

Cassandra grunted in disgust.

'Excellent,' beamed Evelyn, 'so if we're all in agreement that I am hopelessly useless and so could not have committed such a grievous crime, could we perhaps remove these gaudy shackles from my wrists and I'll just head on back to my nice warm estate in Ostwick?'

'No.'

'Ah.'

'They're pissy because there's a great big honking hole in the sky,' offered the spirit helpfully, 'it's raining demons.'

'Hallelujah!' cried Evelyn.

Her captors stared at her. Cassandra made another disgusted noise. The young noble coughed awkwardly.

'Sorry.'

'I do not believe you had nothing to do with the Divine's death,' said Cassandra finally, 'but there are other matters that demand our attention.'

She paused and turned away, gazing unseeingly into the distance.

'Well, that's super dramatic,' commented the spirit.

'The veil between the waking world and the Fade has been breached,' continued Cassandra, 'and we _must_ be the ones to close it.'

'Well,' laughed Evelyn nervously, already sensing where this conversation was heading, 'on behalf of the House of Trevelyan, I wish you the best of luck.'

Cassandra turned back to her and grinned. And it was not a pleasant smile.

'Oh dear,' said the spirit.


	2. In Which Cassandra is Disgusted

AN - Chapter 2 is a little bit longer. I should probably mention that this is going to be a collection of one shots so some of these might not be in order. Anyways, enjoy!

...

Evelyn lay face down in the crisp snow, gasping and struggling for breath, her fingers clenching into the soft powder. She could already feel her wet hair starting to ice over and she shivered miserably.

'Well, that wasn't the way I personally would have killed those demons,' offered her friendly spirit, sitting cheerfully next to her in the freezing snow, 'but accidentally falling through an iced over lake and drowning them as you struggled to get out worked far better than I expected.'

'Thanks,' wheezed the noble.

Cassandra snorted at the trembling girl and rolled her eyes. She was overreacting. The warrior had merely reached into the water and hoisted Evelyn out of the icy liquid by the scruff of her neck. And now the girl was likely delirious. Well, she did not know who her prisoner was talking to but quickly decided she did not particularly care. The Right Hand of the Divine had bigger problems.

'Get up, Trevelyan,' she grunted, nudging the girl less than gently in the side with her foot, 'we are not even close to the top of this mountain yet.'

'Cassandra, is it?,' huffed Evelyn, rolling onto her back, 'you just saved my life, do call me Evie please. I think we've reached that stage in our relationship.'

'No.'

'Fair enough.'

'How come I don't get to call you Evie?' asked the spirit indignantly, 'I thought we were friends?'

'And what gave you that impression?'

'I helped save your life too!'

'No you didn't. You yelled, 'oh no. Look out. A demon.' So I turned around to look for a demon. And then I fell through the ice.'

'Details,' scoffed the spirit, waving a hand dismissively.

'Once you are quite finished talking to thin air,' drawled Cassandra, looking rather unimpressed, 'we have a mountain to climb.'

'Ah, quite,' nodded Evie, wincing as she struggled to her feet, 'who, in the name of Andraste, decided it would be a good idea to build a blasted temple on top of a blighted mountain? Chantry folk do so love their struggles of faith.'

'It's much nicer than the last time I was here,' shrugged the spirit, 'the temple was still on top of a mountain but we also had to deal with murderous blood thirsty cultists. I think I prefer the demons.'

'You are aware you're a spirit, correct? I highly doubt you've ever had to climb a mountain.'

'Well, considering how out of breath you are,' huffed the spirit, 'I could say the same thing about you.'

'Rude.'

'Maker's breath,' hissed Cassandra, throwing up her hands in despair and storming ahead, 'why do I attract crazy people?'

Evie watched her go blankly before eyeing the spirit suspiciously.

'Look, you can call me Evie,' she started, ignoring the spirit's delighted smile, 'as I can already tell you're going to be impossible to get rid of without the help of a very persistent exorcist. But in return, I shall need a name and an explanation for why you are following me around.'

'That seems reasonable,' agreed the spirit easily, 'my name is... well, you can call me Mac.'

'You hesitated.'

'I did,' agreed Mac, 'and I'm following you around because all this seems rather interesting and you seem rather useless and need all the help you can get.'

She paused for a second, winced and avoided Evie's gaze.

'Anditcouldbearguedthatthisisallmyfault.'

'I didn't catch that.'

'Oh, well, that's fortunate.'

'For you maybe. I can't help but feel like that's going to come back around to bite me in my rather phenomenal posterior.'

'Alas, Evie, my friend. Thedas does not have the best track record of treating her heroes well. Prepare to be bitten.'

'Wonderful. And we're still not friends.'

'Okay, ouch.'

'TREVELYAN!' screeched Cassandra, from atop a snow drift, 'I WOULD LIKE TO REACH THE TEMPLE AT SOME POINT TODAY, PLEASE!'

'She's so passive-aggressive,' sighed Mac happily, 'I love it.'

'I believe she's just plain old aggressive,' mused Evie, trudging through the snow lest she incur the wrath of the seething Seeker just ahead, 'I highly doubt the word 'passive' is one she's heard before. Now, that Sister Leliana, on the other hand...'

'Yeah, she's changed,' agreed Mac, 'she used to be all 'oh, don't kill that man. The Maker alone can decide his fate.' Now she's super scary.' The spirit paused and tilted her head. 'Is it wrong that it turns me on a little?'

Evie snorted.

'How often did you spy on people from the Fade?' she asked, 'what are you? A spirit of voyeurism?'

'Something like that,' laughed Mac, rubbing the back of her neck nervously.

'TREVELYAN!'

'Oh, for Andraste's sake,' sighed Evie, 'CAN'T YOU SEE I'M TRYING TO HAVE A CONVERSATION HERE!?'

'CAN'T YOU SEE THERE'S A MASSIVE BLIGHTED HOLE IN THE SKY!?' Cassandra shrieked back, 'YOU CAN TALK TO YOUR BLASTED IMAGINARY FRIENDS AFTER WE SAVE THE WORLD!'

'I'm not imaginary,' huffed Mac, 'honestly, a girl could get a complex hanging around with you lot.'

Evie ignored the spirit and shuffled up to Cassandra, who was glaring at the young noble as if the girl had squatted over the Seeker's goblet and relieved herself.

'You are my prisoner,' hissed Cassandra, 'can you please do what I command?'

'Well, I suppose since you asked nicely...'

The Seeker sighed and rubbed her brow in frustration.

'Look,' she said, 'over that ridge is a rift. Demons are coming out of it. If you get close, you will probably die.'

"Fantastic.'

'Hush!' snapped Cassandra, 'ahem, as I was saying, we believe that mark on your hand can close the rifts but as you have absolutely no skills whatsoever-'

'That's not very nice,' commented Mac with a frown, 'I'm sure she's great at like, sewing and stuff.'

'Thanks,'

'Got your back, friend.'

Cassandra stared at Evie, blinking slowly.

'Who are you- no, nevermind. I don't care. Listen to me carefully. If you come running into battle with me, you will die. I cannot stress that enough.'

'So, what do you suggest then?' frowned Evie.

'I shall enter the fray,' said Cassandra, drawing her sword decisively, looking every inch the famed warrior she was, 'and when I give the signal, you emerge over the ridge and join me at my side immediately. No stopping to admire anything, no screaming and running from demons, and no chatting to imaginary friends. Are we clear?'

'Yes, ma'am!'

'Good,' nodded Cassandra, 'then prepare yourself.'

She vaulted over the ridge with a valiant cry and launched into battle. The sound of steel sinking into squishy demon flesh echoed through the valley and Evie shivered at the thought. She sank down into the snow, ducking beneath the ridge and waited for the signal with tense anticipation.

Mac glanced at the cowering noble before shrugging and clambering on top of the ridge to watch the skirmish.

'You know,' she began thoughtfully, crossing her arms across her chest and tilting her head, 'Cassandra's plan is solid but I think it would probably work better if she'd actually told you what the signal was.'

'What!?' squawked Evie, 'Maker's breath, you're right!'

She scrambled to her feet, only to trip and fall again which was actually rather fortunate because a wayward crossbow bolt whizzed passed precisely where her head had been two seconds previously.

'Andraste's saggy tits, that was a close one!' grinned Mac.

'How am I supposed to know when they need me?' cried Evie, burrowing further into the snow, 'I'm supposed to wait for a signal BUT THERE IS NO SIGNAL!'

A howl of disgust suddenly filled the air and the two froze and glanced at each other.

'I imagine that would be the signal,' mused Mac.

Evie let out a rather pathetic war cry and scrambled over the ridge, flailing her arms in an attempt to intimidate the demons. All she achieved, however, was looking like a crazy person, which Cassandra would argue she was, and smacking a bald elf in the face with a misplaced backhand before the Seeker managed to grab her.

'By the Fade!' cried the elf, clutching his nose in pain, 'am I bleeding? Varric, be honest, am I bleeding?'

Varric, a dwarf with copious amounts of chest hair, swung his crossbow onto his back and rolled his eyes.

'Calm down, Chuckles,' he drawled, 'you're fine.'

He strolled up to Evie, eyeing her critically.

'So this is our prisoner then? Varric Tethras, nice to meet you.'

'Charmed,' smiled Evie, as she squirmed in Cassandra's grip, 'who's your elf friend?'

'Solas,' huffed the elf, still clutching his nose, 'Fade expert, apostate and your saviour.'

'Chuckles kept you alive after you fell from the rift,' explained Varric.

'Oh, well, thanks then,' offered Evie awkwardly.

'You're welcome,' responded the elf. He narrowed his eyes and examined Evie carefully, tilting his head as he did so, 'I sense the presence of a spirit.'

'Demons?!' cried Cassandra, releasing Evie, drawing her sword and whirling around wildly.

'I said _spirit, _Seeker,' sighed Solas, 'if I had meant demon, I would have _said _demon.'

'Can he see me?' asked Mac curiously, circling the elf mage with her hands on her hips.

'She wants to know if you can see her,' relayed Evie.

'Alas, I cannot,' answered Solas, 'which is unusual and an occurrence I am not all too familiar with.'

'So, the prisoner is not crazy, then?' asked Cassandra, a hint of disappointment tinging her tone, 'she has actually been conversing with another being and not delusions?'

'I believe so, yes.'

'Blast.'

'So why can't we see this spirit then?' asked Varric, sceptically, 'because I've seen spirits before. They don't usually hide when they're on this side of the veil.'

'Those are spirits who were well, born for lack of a better word, in the Fade. Sometimes, living beings pass on but linger. In such cases, it is usually only spirit mediums who can converse with such beings.'

'I hate to break it to you, Chuckles, but Glowstick here isn't exactly a medium.'

'This is true,' admitted Evie.

'I know,' said Solas, 'I imagine it is your Fade mark giving you such a power. I would recommend helping this spirit finish whatever it is she did not complete in this plane of existence and help her move on.'

'Um, well as my unfinished business is saving the world,' interrupted Mac, 'perhaps we should get on with that? That weird glowing thing over there looks unhealthy for everyone.'

Evie followed Mac's gesturing and gaped at the swirling mass of green floating before them.

'What in Andraste's name is that?' she asked breathlessly.

'A fade rift,' grunted Cassandra, 'Solas, fix it.'

'With pleasure,' he grabbed Evie's wrist and dragged her over to the rift.

'Hey, watch it, pal!' frowned Mac, clearly displeased at the rough treatment.

Of course, it was no use as Solas could not hear her anyway, but Evie appreciated the gesture. The elf pressed the hand bearing the mark against the rift. For a second, nothing happened. Then a sudden wave of agonising, crippling pain travelled up Evie's arm and flooded her body. She cried out, her eyes rolling into the back of her head and crumpled into the snow. The rift expanded rapidly before exploding out of existence.

'Evie!' Mac scampered over to her side, 'are you alright?'

'Absolutely superb,' wheezed the noble, 'best I've ever been.'

'That's good,' commented Solas, glancing up at the swirling abyss in the sky, 'because you've got to close that one next.'

'Bollocks,' said Evie.


End file.
